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Deep roots, ticket push can help team weather a stoppage

It’s tough being a Stars fan.

You watch former owner Tom Hicks muddle through a couple of seasons while his
sports empire is crashing down. You watch through a couple of seasons while
faceless lenders ignore your team and hold out for the right price. You watch
while new owner Tom Gaglardi comes in and tries to inject some optimism and
excitement … and … then … this …

The NHL and players’ union met last week, and both Commissioner Gary Bettman
and union chief Don Fehr reported that there is a wide gap in negotiations for a
new collective bargaining agreement. That means the league looks destined for
another lockout.

Yep, after the league did the unprecedented in 2004 and shut down an entire
season, we’re looking at another work stoppage.

And you’re thinking this couldn’t come at a worse time for the Stars. But the
truth is, the organization can handle another work stoppage because the roots
here are deep enough.

Officials of NHL teams do not speak about labor negotiations, so Gaglardi and
CEO Jim Lites had to be careful when broaching the subject. But both said the
future of the team is in good hands.

“I’m confident in the marketplace for the long term,” said Gaglardi. “I
wouldn’t have bought the team if I wasn’t.”

Gaglardi bought the Stars through a bankruptcy hearing in November for $240
million. Forbes magazine lists the Stars as the 11th-most-valuable
team in the NHL at $230 million. Since moving to Dallas in 1993, the Stars have
spent most of that time in Forbes’ Top 10 in franchise value, climbing as high as
fourth in the league in 2004.

“We have a great arena deal, we have a great demographic, we have a great
marketplace,” said Lites. “Look, there were some mistakes made, and we have had
some down years, but we’re in the process of fixing those mistakes, and we’re in
the process of coming back. The future is bright.”

And that’s even if there’s a work stoppage. In the two previous seasons when
the team was being run by lenders, much of the sales and management team left
and the lenders hired an interim president. Because of that, the push to sell
tickets fell flat. Dallas ranked 28th in the NHL last season in average
attendance at 14,226. Most alarming was the fact the Stars announced four crowds
of less than 10,000 early in the season — including the smallest crowd to ever
see the Stars play in Dallas, 6,306.

So, yeah, there was reason for concern.

However, since Gaglardi and Lites have come in, they have pushed sales back
up and started distributing either complimentary tickets or good deals. The last
nine games of the season all had announced attendance in excess of 16,600, and
that included three sellouts.

Now, you can bet a lot of those tickets were free or pretty cheap, but the
process of getting people to see the Stars was started. That continued in the
summer, when the Stars reported 91 percent renewal on season tickets and a
little more than 1,000 new season-ticket holders.

So, things are looking up, right? Well, a lockout won’t help the process, and
it could definitely keep fans who are interested in watching the Cowboys,
Mavericks or Rangers from even considering a switch. But Gaglardi said he
believes the Stars are moving in the right direction.

“I have to give Jim Lites a lot of credit, because he’s done a great job of
stopping the negative momentum on the tickets and turning that around into some
positive momentum,” Gaglardi said. “But even more important, he has really been
in touch with the corporate community, and he has made huge strides there. I
feel very good about that part of the organization.”

Lites ran the team from 1993 when it arrived until his contract was not
renewed by Hicks in 2008, so he understands the hockey community and the
business community. Staying away for four years also helped refuel his fire for
the battle when he was hired by Gaglardi in November.

“I really care about this team, so when I look out there and the arena is
half empty, I really cringe,” Lites said. “So there is a real personal goal of
getting the Dallas Stars back in the playoffs, back on the map, and back with a
full arena. That means a lot to me.”

So, yes, there could be speed bumps along the way. Yes, there could be some
tough times keeping spirits high for a group of employees who were just hired
and might have to take pay cuts if there is a lockout. Yes, the Stars’ fans will
have to deal with another punch in the gut.

But a lockout won’t kill the Stars.

The people in charge believe they have already hit rock bottom and the only
way now is up. And they believe they’re already a couple of rungs up the
ladder.